Tag: Roko Prkacin

2021 NBA Mock Draft: Predicting all 59 picks, starting with Chet Holmgren

Let’s look ahead to next year’s draft.

We are only a couple of weeks removed from the 2021 NBA draft and it’s silly to publish a mock draft for next year. But let’s do it anyway.

Because frankly, far away as though it may seem, ten months can go by fast. Although a lot is going to change, some things stay the same. For example, I published my first mock draft of the 2020 cycle in May 2019 and all three of the first projected picks heard their names called within the first three picks nearly fifteen months later. Much of the rest, of course, is utterly wrong and embarrassing. But it is still helpful to track progression and regression.

Before we discuss the next crop of future NBA talent, however, let’s address the elephant in the room. You have probably noticed that the headline said this mock draft highlights 59 picks. No, that isn’t a typo.

Allow me to explain. The Milwaukee Bucks have forfeited the rights to their second-round pick in the 2022 NBA draft due to violating league rules regarding an attempted transaction made back in Nov. 2020. While it sucks for the additional person who is going to go undrafted, undrafted free agency isn’t the worst thing.

Otherwise, the order of this draft was determined by reversing the NBA futures odds courtesy of Tipico SportsBook. The teams whose odds fell outside the eight best in each conference composed the projected lottery. Meanwhile, all picks involved with previous trades were included in the order as well.

Another quick housekeeping note: My mock drafts tend to be fairly data-driven. But that can sometimes lead to some blind spots for evaluating prospects playing outside the NCAA (e.g. high school, AAU, FIBA, etc.), which made pre-season mock drafts particularly difficult.

That’s no longer the case thanks to the help from our fantastic new partners over at Cerebro Sports, a stats and analytics resource that scrapes box scores to determine how top basketball prospects have stacked up against all their previous competition.

With all that in mind, far away as we may be from draft night on June 22, here is how I see everything shaking out just based on what we know so far:

Report: Prospect Roko Prkacin withdraws name from NBA draft

Roko Prkacin, whose skill set seems to fit what Sam Presti and the Thunder look for in prospects, has withdrawn his name from the draft, according to ESPN.

Roko Prkacin, a Croatian NBA prospect whose skill set made him a theoretical fit with the Oklahoma City Thunder and the front office’s draft philosophy, has withdrawn his name from the draft, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.

The 6-foot-9 forward is a great passer and would have been a fun fit next to Aleksej Pokusevski if he were on the Thunder. But there are lots of differences between the Oklahoma City prospect and the 18-year-old Croatian. Prkacin is eager to drive to the rim and blow by defenders, and he gets up to dunk the ball.

Last season, Prkacin averaged 13.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists for KK Cibona in the Adriatic League. A good catch-and-shoot player, he hit 39.4% of his looks from 3.

That assist number understates how good of a passer he is, but his poor assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6 assists to 2.4 turnovers) does reflect that he needs to learn to be more careful with the ball.

Prkacin still needs development and consistency, which may be why he’s choosing to withdraw from the draft. With another year of experience, he may be a riser and a surefire first-rounder. Right now, mock draft projections range from mid-first round to early-second.

He seemed like he could be an option for the Thunder with either their No. 16 or 18 pick or their No. 34 or 36 pick. Instead, Prkacin will remain out of the league for at least one more year.

The NBA draft is scheduled to take place on Thursday, July 29.

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International prospect Roko Prkacin to withdraw from NBA draft

Prkacin averaged 13.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists last season with KK Cibona in the Adriatic League.

International prospect Roko Prkacin has reportedly removed his name from the NBA draft ahead of the withdrawal deadline, according to Jonathan Givony of ESPN.

Prkacin averaged 13.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists last season with KK Cibona in the Adriatic League. He shot 39.4% from 3-point range and was thought to be one of the more versatile frontcourt players in the draft this year.

His withdrawal from the draft was a bit surprising considering many had him projected to be a late first-round pick. However, by returning to Europe for another season, the 6-foot-9 forward will have the opportunity to further improve his draft stock for next year.

Prospects had until 5 p.m. EST on Monday to withdraw from the draft.

With the withdrawal deadline on Monday, Prkacin was the biggest surprise of those that opted to pull out of contention. He figures to be in contention to be a mid-first-round pick next season with more development and another year of professional experience.

The NBA draft is scheduled to take place on Thursday, July 29.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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For The Win mock draft: Thunder get Keon Johnson with pick 16

Could the Thunder end up with both Scottie Barnes and Keon Johnson? One mock draft says yes.

Many draft analysts see Keon Johnson as a likely top-10 pick in the upcoming NBA draft, but his raw play makes him a candidate to drop a bit. One expert thinks Johnson could find himself all the way out of the lottery.

In For The Win’s mock draft, Bryan Kalbrosky had the Oklahoma City Thunder taking Johnson with pick No. 16.

Johnson set a record for the best max vertical leap ever recorded at the combine. Crazy athletic and with an ability to get to the rim on offense and play solid defense, the Tennessee freshman has a high ceiling. But there’s also certainly a floor.

Kalbrosky wrote:

“His ability to fly well above the rim makes him an interesting developmental project with jaw-dropping athleticism. Oklahoma City will have that kind of patience in their rebuild.”

The Thunder would be thrilled to get Johnson at No. 16. He’s certainly a candidate for top-10 in the draft. His game will require development, but he has potential to be a very good NBA player.

2021 NBA Mock Draft 6.0: Predicting all 60 picks after the combine

While most of the basketball world is focused on the NBA Finals, scouts and draftniks are in the midst of a very busy time of year as well.

While most of the basketball world is focused on the NBA Finals, scouts and draftniks are in the midst of a very busy time of year as well.

The most crucial dates leading up to the draft are the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, the early entry application deadline, the lottery, the combine and the early entry withdrawal deadline. All have since come and gone, which means that we’re somehow already in the home stretch before the big night in Brooklyn on July 29.

Prospects are still frantically traveling around the country, visiting with teams for both individual and group workouts in front of key decision-makers. Still, others are currently playing for their national team on the FIBA circuit.

But as far as the public is concerned, the only new information that will be released between now and the draft will be filtered through whatever is reported by journalists. As such, until intel starts rolling in, this mock draft offers the most informed projections yet.

While these predictions are based on my conversations with NBA scouts and executives around the league, as well as my own scouting and information-gathering, they’re subject to change dramatically over the course of the next few weeks.

Hornets worked out Sharife Cooper, JT Thor and others on Friday

The two former Auburn players were among the prospects to work out with the Hornets on Friday.

Auburn guard Sharife Cooper and forward JT Thor were among the prospects that worked out on Friday with the Charlotte Hornets, the team announced.

Cooper was named to the SEC All-Freshman team after averaging 20.2 points, 8.1 assists, 4.3 rebounds and one steal in 12 games. He was one of seven players to average at least 20 points and eight assists over the last 25 years.

Meanwhile, Thor averaged 9.4 points, five rebounds and 1.4 blocked shots in 27 games played last season with the Tigers. He finished as one of five freshmen in the country to register at least 250 points, 100 rebounds and 30 blocks.

In addition to Cooper and Thor, the Hornets also worked out Iowa forward Luka Garza, Howard center Makur Maker, international prospect Roko Prkacin, Tennessee guard Jaden Springer and UConn guard James Bouknight.

The Hornets have picks 11, 56 and 57 entering the draft, and each player they met with on Friday is projected to be in their range in the first round. Of course, workouts are hardly an indication of how a team will draft as organizations look to do their homework on as many prospects as possible.

The NBA draft is scheduled to take place on Thursday, July 29.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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Brooklyn Nets draft: Why the Nets should target Roko Prkacin

Breaking down why the Brooklyn Nets should draft Roko Prkacin with the 27th pick in the NBA Draft.

The Brooklyn Nets have the 27th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, and there’s a perfect fit for the Nets’ needs expected to go in the latter half of the first round: Croatian big man Roko Prkacin.

Prkacin averaged 11.7 PPG, 6.6 RPG and 2.1 APG for KK Cibona in Europe’s ABA Liga. It’s the same league that Nikola Jokic was the MVP of in 2015. The Nets also have a history of success with Croatian players, going back to Drazen Petrovic and Bojan Bogdanovic.

Standing at 6-foot-8, Prkacin’s feel for the game has always been next level. At 16-years-old he was forced to play with professional ballers in Europe rather than other teenagers in AAU or high school basketball like here in America. As a result, he had to adapt quickly. When compared to his European peers at 16 he was an absolute standout, leading Croatia to a U16 European Championship game where he won MVP honors in a win.

What makes Prkacin’s game even more versatile is his ability to handle the ball. Ball handling is somewhat of a requirement for those who play basketball in his country. The process was made easier because his dad, Nikola Prkacin, was his guide throughout. His father was a former basketball player who was a beast in the post. He has passed on those skills to his son, which means the 18-year-old can score on all three levels at such a young age.

Prkacin can be versatile when filling any role for the Nets. He can be the roller for lobs similar to Nicolas Claxton, off the ball he can find open pockets on the floor offensively similar to Bruce Brown, and he can push the ball in transition off of a defensive rebound.

This is something that is starting to be a trend across the league with skilled forwards. Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo are generational talents, however they are also in charge of getting their teams out on the break when finishing off defensive possessions. Yes, Kevin Durant and James Harden are capable of doing that, but none of the current big men on the Nets can. The Denver Nuggets averaged 15.4 PPG from transition opportunities during the playoffs while the Milwaukee Bucks averaged 20.7 PPG in transition according to NBA.com.

What the young prospect and team captain must work on more though is his shooting, but he has improved on that a lot during his last year playing for KK Cibona. This will be perfect in spreading the floor for Brooklyn. In an interview on the 1stClassTicket Prkacin said, “Mostly I work on my jumpshot. Most of the time I only work on my jumpshot. My shooting … my shooting off dribbles. My shooting off pick and pops. Getting out of screens — On that I just put on a lot of handles. A lot of post work, like fadeaways and hook shots. I want to be a complete player.”

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NBA Mock Draft 5.0: All 60 picks updated after the 2021 lottery

Learn who we think will get selected with each of the 60 picks in the 2021 NBA draft.

The 2021 NBA draft order is set and the Detroit Pistons have won the lottery, taking home the No. 1 overall pick on Tuesday evening.

Of course, these projections are subject to change even over the next few days, as the NBA’s combine is currently underway in Chicago. Prospects are often able to separate themselves and improve their draft stock if they stand out during five-on-five scrimmages that will take place later this week.

Note that there are several players who are currently “testing the waters” (e.g. Texas Tech’s Terrence Shannon Jr., UCLA’s Johnny Juzang, St. John’s Julian Champagnie and Oral Roberts’ Max Abmas, etc.) that were omitted from this mock. Such players will have until midnight on July 8 to decide if they wish to return to the NCAA and improve their draft stock or remain in this class.

Unfortunately, collegiate national champion Jared Butler was omitted from our mock after news broke earlier today that he is “not permitted to play or practice” in the NBA, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania, unless his heart condition is deemed as cleared.

We will continue to release more mock drafts as we gather more intel, but until then, here is how we project the draft to shake out on July 29.

2021 NBA Draft Big Board 4.0: Top 100 prospects pre-combine and lottery

Now that the early entry list is officially out and combine invitations have been sent out, the 2021 NBA draft class is starting to finalize.

Now that the early entry deadline has passed and combine invitations have been sent out, the 2021 NBA draft class is starting to finalize.

Last year, the NCAA tournament and the combine were both canceled due to the pandemic. That made evaluations much tougher for scouts and front offices around the league. This year, the pre-draft process feels somewhat normal again for top basketball prospects who are set to join the pros.

As a new class of players prepares to turn professional, here is how we would currently rank this class based on what we have seen from them so far, with some of my picks that are higher than other experts have them ranked.

2021 NBA Mock Draft 4.0: Player comparisons and predicting all 60 picks

Who should the Houston Rockets select if they get the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft?

While fans are now enjoying the NBA postseason, there are several teams that didn’t make the playoffs with full attention on the draft.

Now that the regular season and play-in tournament are both complete, the order is set for picks No. 15 to No. 60. However, we will have to wait until the lottery on June 22.

For more details on odds for when each team in the lottery will be on the clock, you can read this post by our own Charles Curtis.

Meanwhile, we also have a pretty clear idea of which prospects have opted to declare for the 2021 NBA draft. But any stragglers still have until May 30 to make their decision in order to be eligible for draft consideration.

Scouts and executives around the league will have an even better feel for this class come June 21, when the combine begins in Chicago.

After that, all those who hired either NCAA-certified agents or do not already have any representation have until July 19 to decide if they wish to remain in the class and forego their collegiate eligibility or return to school.

Until then, however, this is how we predict the two rounds of the 2021 NBA draft will shake out: